Persisting
Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep
moving. They make mistakes, but they never quit.
—Conrad HiltonEfficacious people stick to a task until it is completed. They don’t give up
easily. They are able to analyze a problem, and they develop a system,
structure, or strategy to attack it. They have a repertoire of alternative
strategies for problem solving, and they employ a whole range of these
strategies. They collect evidence to indicate their problem-solving strategy
is working, and if one strategy doesn’t work, they know how to back up and
try another. They recognize when a theory or an idea must be rejected and
another employed. They have systematic methods for analyzing a prob-
lem, which include knowing how to begin, what steps must be performed,
what data must be generated or collected, and what resources are avail-
able to assist. Because they are able to sustain a problem-solving process
over time, they are comfortable with ambiguous situations.
Students often give up when they don’t immediately know the answer
to a problem. They sometimes crumple their papers and throw them
away, exclaiming “I can’t do this!” or “It’s too hard!” Sometimes they write
down anyanswer to get the task over with as quickly as possible. Some of
these students have attention deficits. They have difficulty staying focused
for any length of time; they are easily distracted, or they lack the ability to
analyze a problem and develop a system, structure, or strategy of attack.
They may give up because they have a limited repertoire of problem-
solving strategies, and thus they have few alternatives if their first strategy
doesn’t work.
18 Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind